Bruce Weber, admired for his glamorous celebrity portraits and groundbreaking, controversial ad campaigns, famously started in the business as a male model. “But I wasn’t very good,” he recalls. “I was never on time.”

Only after he began studying at New York University’s Film School and working with photographers such as Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus and William Connors did he find something he could take seriously. They were mentors to him, he says.

Weber, who is notably warm and charismatic, has had a much more varied career than most photographers and has directed several films and published 23 books. His latest book “All-American Volume Thirteen: Born Ready: A Journal by Bruce Weber” (teNeues) consists of photos and essays on a number of subjects, most of which he didn’t photograph, from Homeboy Industries to Edie Windsor’s long relationship with her eventual spouse, Thea Spyer. Windsor, of course, went to the Supreme Court to challenge the Defense of Marriage law that prevented her from inheriting Spyer’s estate without paying taxes — and won.

During one of his first jobs, Weber was on location in Florida, and the client — who was producing a catalogue — insisted that he had to have a smoke bomb, that all real photographers had them. He said he didn’t have one. The man continued to insist, and even though Weber had no other clients, he went to slug him. Later, the catalogue man came back and apologized, and they had a drink. Weber says that this incident taught him to always stand up for himself.

One way that he does this is by refusing to shoot photographs digitally. Instead, he continues to use a Pentax and film. He does not want art directors and technicians going to his shoots and telling him what to do as they try to tinker with the photos. He also prefers the results that film gives him. This intransigence has cost him clients, but he doesn’t care.

Weber describes the way that the “All-American” series of books is put together. His production team, which includes his wife, photo agent Nan Bush, meet and decide what to include. He says that, of the group, he tends to be the “loosest about” the All-American label: “Oh, he’s a French photographer, but he’s been to the United States. That works.”

For this particular book, he was alerted to Homeboy Industries by meeting with Wendy Stark, whose father, the celebrated producer Ray, started the charity, which helps young men who are in gangs start on a different path and which includes a bakery, a silk-screen shop and other enterprises. “He was an amazing man, an important producer and great art collector who decided to help men and women who have just gotten out of prison,” notes Weber of Ray Stark.

When he decided to run the Windsor-Spyer piece, he was presented with a treasure trove of photos of the two beautiful women together at different points in their lives. Another chapter in the book is about Micky Wolfson, a collector of art and objects who created his own museum in Miami. “It has a great shop,” Weber says. “I love museum shops.”

One of his films, 2004’s “A Letter to True,” is about one of his beloved dogs. Weber recalls visiting Japan to promote the book without True, and seeing the city plastered with huge images of the dog, which made him miss him badly. He also remembers that, during the part of the publicity jaunt in which True traveled with him, journalists would interview the dog, asking questions and noting down his answers. At one screening, “True was surrounded by women; it was as if he was Elvis Presley.”

Weber has received a lot of criticism for the heightened sexuality of some of his advertising photography. He points out that desiring the subject of a photograph is a good, not a bad, thing. He maintains that when he photographed the nude groups that initially appeared in Calvin Klein ads, they ended up being shot that way because the clothes hadn’t arrived. The clothes eventually did turn up, and he ended up shooting the models clothed, too, but Klein preferred the nude shots.

Weber says he gives acting and dance classes to the groups of models he uses in campaigns for firms such as Abercrombie & Fitch, images that have again been criticized for their overt sexuality. But the young people often end up making enduring friendships from the shoots.

“My life doesn’t begin and end with photographing celebrities,” Weber adds. He notes that he just got back from a visit to Detroit, which he found fascinating, and says that he could easily have spent much longer there. He adds that he usually ends up photographing people at the beginning or the ends of their careers. Older artists, he says, are very professional, and “they’re so happy to be getting some attention.” Older performers and artists are more respected in Europe, he observes, and that’s why many of them move there.

Weber made his 1988 film, “Let’s Get Lost,” after spending years as a major fan of the jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. One snowy day in Manhattan, he saw a man in a convertible with the top down. It was Baker. He went to see him and told him that he was eager to photograph him and make a film about him. “He was amazing,” Weber recalls. “Because I had that camera, I was able to see him again. I think it’s more difficult for a painter who asks to make someone’s portrait, because it takes so long.”

The photographer notes that certain very handsome men are jealous of the photographic relationship he has with other good-looking men. It seems that they don’t like sharing that sort of attention with others of their kind.

Latest Galleries

FREE ALERTS & NEWSLETTERS

Social Studies

In yet another fashion show shuffle, @elleryland is moving its show in sync with the Paris couture calendar — though the brand is still keeping one foot on the city’s ready-to-wear schedule. Their runway show in January will coincide with the launch of a new strategy: designing two main collections each year instead of four, which will then be released in four drops. “As we all know, the system needs to change. We need to show sooner to give time back to artisans and designers to do what they do best — create,” said founder Kym Ellery. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)

@maxmara’s classic 101801 coat was the cornerstone of its pre-fall 2018 collection. The design team expanded the traditional double-breasted, kimono-sleeved style into a trapeze coat, lean belted styles and a peacoat and presented them in monochromatic looks – like the camel one pictured here. #wwdfashion #prefall18 (📷: George Chinsee)

The @cfda has shifted the dates of #NYFW, with Men’s showing on February 5 through February 7, and Women’s will directly follow, running from February 8 through 14. The preliminary schedule will be released on the CFDA’s web site in the next few days, but Mark Beckham, VP of marketing for the CFDA, revealed that @rafsimons will be back to close the men’s-specific part of the week with a show on February 7 #wwdfashion (📷: Kelly Taub)

@ferragamo is introducing a new space dedicated to the development of women’s and men’s leather good samples. The laboratory, which is created eco-friendly materials and designed to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing processes, will allow the company to expand its accessories offering through traditional artisanal approaches. #wwdfashion (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)

How does a “regular, degular, schmegular” girl from the Bronx, N.Y., become a Grammy-nominated artist with a certified platinum record in less than a year? Call it the @iamcardib come up. The 25-year-old has become a musical sensation, and the fashion world is taking note. “If I could describe her style I would say drama. She’s really into the dramatics,” says Cardi B’s stylist @kollincarter. See how Carter styles her bold and out there looks with the link in bio. #wwdfashion

“There is no formula. There is no guideline. I can watch Ted Talks all day, but there is no one who can advise me on exactly what it is I should be doing,” said @ronniefieg, CEO of @kith, in an interview with WWD’s @ariahughes at the brand’s new SoHo office in Manhattan. Head to WWD.com to see how Fieg went from hanging out in shoe stockrooms at 13 to building his own business. #wwdfashion (📷: @weston.wells)

@fearofgod and @maxfieldla have teamed up on a pop-up installation. The store, located in the gallery space across from Maxfield’s Melrose Ave location, is the site of the brand’s House of God pop-up in which Fear of God founder @jerrylorenzo has created a church-inspired installation. A dozen vintage church pews sit in front of an LED screen playing 90s gospel singers in an effort to re-create an environment akin to a Southern Baptist Church, Lorenzo explained. Read more about the pop-up on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: Jennifer Johnson)

Known for his sleek, sophisticated American glamour, Norman Norell is the subject of an upcoming exhibition at @fitnyc. “Norell: Dean of American Fashion,” which runs from February 9 through April 14, will feature approximately 100 ensembles and accessories. His best work is exemplified by the designer’s glittering “mermaid” gowns frosted with thousands of hand-sewn sequins – like the one pictured. (📷: William Helburn) #wwdfashion

For pre-fall 2018, @balmain didn’t let go of the glitz. A crystal embroidered baseball jacket priced at around $40,000 hangs in the “couture” section of the brand’s first men’s pre-collection. Sporting the words “Balmain Army” across the back, the item took around two months to make. “When it was completed, it was like Christmas, it was like, ‘It’s done, it’s exactly what I wanted,’” said Balmain’s creative director @olivier_rousteing during a tour of the collection in a Paris showroom on Monday. #wwdfashion